Five Takeaways: Saturday Flyin to the Hoop

Samari Curt justified he is still one of the top players in the Class of 2019.

Samari Curtis (2019) has been on to a fast start this season, leading the GWOC in scoring with 31 points per game. Today, he continued his start with a 25 point performance against Olentangy Liberty out of Columbus. Curtis had a slow start in the 1st half as the Patriots threw a 2-3 zone against him and held him under 10 points. However the Patriots switched to a man-to-man read in the 2nd half which allowed Samari to attack off the dribble where he excels at.

2. Pickerington North against Princeton lived up to the hype.

One of the most highly anticipated games this weekend was this matchup between Cincinnati and Columbus best teams. It was also a showdown between the state’s top 2 players in the Class of 2018. Jerome Hunter (2018) finished with 23 points but was crucial in defending Princeton star Darius Bazely (2018), holding him to only 12 points. Hunter has definitely improved his perimeter defense from last year and did a great job not allowing Bazely to get started during the game. For a more in-depth look at this game, check out Anthony Garcia’s piece recapping this game.

3. Trotwood-Madison shocked a lot of people by competing today.

Trotwood came into this game as an underdog against the #9 ranked team in the country against McEachern. This didn’t stop the Rams from competing as they came out and gave the Indians more of a challenge than anyone in the gym could have anticipated. Amari Davis (2019) led scoring with 24 points and impressed with his midrange shooting against the longer and taller Indian defense. Trotwood led for most of the 3rd quarter, however, Isaac Okoro (2019) Indians team were too much for the Rams in the end.

4. The National vs. National matchup was good but not great

The finale game of the night had IMG Academy from Florida take on Prolific Prep from California. Pro Prep went on to win 75-71, but the game did not have that same feeling as past had.